WE TRAVEL, INITIALLY, TO LOSE OURSELVES; AND WE TRAVEL, NEXT, TO FIND OURSELVES.

"We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again -- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more." Pico Iyer

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REAL DE 14

A Time Travel Adventure

Nestled in the highlands above the deserts of the central state of San Luis Potosi, Real de Catorce is a Magical Town settled by Spanish conquistadores in 1774 as a mining town. Towards 1863, Real de Catorce´s silver coin mint house became the most important in the country, before being shut around 1865. Just a few miles away, you will find the Cerro del Quemado, which is the Huichol Indians' most sacred site, and where yearly pilgrimages from around the country converge. Most intriguingly, towards the early 1900´s all except the most die-hard locals abandoned Real de Catorce.

Today, the hand-chiseled 1.5 mile Ogarrio tunnel leading into Real de Catorce is more a time-machine, than an access road. When you emerge on the other side, the magic of the village takes you back to another era.